Method And Apparatus For Reproducing Data And Recording Medium

ABSTRACT

A recording medium, and a method and apparatus for reproducing data from the recording medium are disclosed. The recording medium for recording data includes: first reproduction-restriction information of the recording medium; and update information of second reproduction-restriction information of other recording medium. If the content provider (CP) desires to release reproduction-restriction of pre-introduced content data at a region or country due to the reproduction environment or other conditions associated with the data reproduction, the content provider provides reproduction-restriction release information via new recording medium including other contents. The user can buy the new recording medium and receive restriction release information from the content provider (CP) without paying the usage fee of reproduction-restricted contents, thereby freely employing desired contents having been protected from being reproduced.

TECHNICAL FIELD

The present invention relates to a method and apparatus for reproducing data, and a recording medium, and more particularly to a recording medium for recording data therein, and a method and apparatus for reproducing data recorded in the recording medium and/or a storage.

BACKGROUND ART

In recent times, there has been widely used an optical disc acting as a recording medium capable of recording a large amount of data therein. Particularly, with the increasing number of users who desire to use high-quality video data and high-quality audio data, there have recently been developed the HDTV and the MPEG2.

For example, provided that video data corresponding to a single HDTV-grade movie is stored in a disc with an image quality of the MPEG2, there is needed a new high-density recording medium capable of recording/storing data of at least 20 Gbyte.

Due to the above-mentioned demand of the users, a Blu-ray Disc (BD) or High-Definition Digital Versatile Disc (HD-DVD) based on the next-generation recording medium technique has been considered to be the next-generation optical recording solution capable of storing much more data than a conventional DVD. Also, an optical recording/reproducing apparatus to which the high-density recording medium standard is applied is being intensively developed.

However, the copyright of a content provider (CP) (i.e., a content author) who provides users with content data stored in the recording medium must be legally protected from others. However, indeed, most content data of the content provider (CP) are being illegally copied by fraudulent users without permission of the content provider (CP), and are being illegally distributed to unauthorized users.

Particularly, although there is a need to prevent specific content data from being distributed to a specific region or country, indeed, the specific content data is being rapidly distributed to users of the specific region or country via a variety of paths, such that the copyright of the content provider (CP) acting as the author of the content data cannot be effectively protected from fraudulent users.

In order to solve the above-mentioned problems, the content provider (CP) has widely used reproduction-allowed region information or reproduction-allowed country information incapable of reproducing data at a specific region or country.

However, as time goes by, an initial time or condition for providing the content data may be unexpectedly changed to others, such that the reproduction-restriction of the reproduction-unallowed region or country may be unavoidably released, such that fraudulent users may illegally use the content data of the content provider (CP).

In conclusion, there is needed a method for providing updated information.

DISCLOSURE OF INVENTION

Accordingly, the present invention is directed to a recording medium, and a method and apparatus for reproducing/recording data from/in the recording medium that substantially obviate one or more problems due to limitations and disadvantages of the related art.

An object of the present invention devised to solve the problem lies on a recording medium capable of recording reproduction-associated update information of a specific region or country.

Another object of the present invention devised to solve the problem lies on a method for reproducing data including reproduction-associated update information of a specific region or country.

A further object of the present invention devised to solve the problem lies on a method and apparatus for reproducing data using the update information.

Reference will now be made in detail to the exemplary embodiments of the present invention, examples of which are illustrated in the accompanying drawings. Wherever possible, the same reference numbers will be used throughout the drawings to refer to the same or like parts.

A recording medium and a method and apparatus for reproducing data from the recording medium will hereinafter be described with reference to the annexed drawings.

Prior to describing the present invention, it should be noted that most terms disclosed in the present invention correspond to general terms well known in the art, but some terms have been selected by the applicant as necessary and will hereinafter be disclosed in the following description of the present invention. Therefore, it is preferable that the terms defined by the applicant be understood on the basis of their meanings in the present invention.

The term “recording medium” is indicative of a medium in which data is recorded, and may be indicative of any one of a variety of optical discs, for example, DVD, BD, HD-DVD, and NFR (Near Field Recording), etc.

The term “storage” is indicative of a storage unit included in an optical recording/reproducing apparatus 10 shown in FIG. 1. In more detail, the term “storage” is indicative of a component capable of receiving necessary information or data from a user, and storing the received information or data. For example, a general storage may be indicative of a Hard Disc Drive (HDD), a system memory, or a flash memory, but it should be noted that the term “storage” of the present invention is not limited to the HDD, the system memory, and the flash memory, and is applicable to other examples as necessary.

In association with the present invention, the term “storage” is used as a storage unit for storing data associated with the recording medium, and the above-mentioned data may be downloaded from an external part over a network.

In association with the present invention, partially-allowed data may be directly read from the recording medium, or system data (e.g., metadata) associated with the reproduction of data recorded in the recording medium is created, such that the system data may also be stored in the storage.

The term “Content” is indicative of content data of a title, and is equal to data received from an author of a recording medium.

In association with the above-mentioned description, a person for providing content data used as an external source is generally referred to as a content provider (CP).

The term “original data” is indicative of data recorded in the recording medium. The term “additional data” is indicative of data associated with the recording medium from among data stored in the storage, and exists in the outside of the optical disc. The original data and the additional data can be distinguished from each other according to data acquisition methods. In other words, data associated with the original data simultaneously existing in the outside of the optical disc may act as additional data.

In association with the above-mentioned description, the term “Title” is indicative of a reproduction unit (or a reading unit) interfacing with a user. For example, if the optical disc is a BD, each title is linked to a specific object, and a stream associated with a corresponding title recorded in the disc is reproduced according to a command or program of the object.

For the convenience of description, provided that a specific title from among several titles, each of which records MPEG-based high-quality moving images therein, supports a seamless multi-angle, a multi-story, a language credit, and a director cut, etc., this specific title is referred to as a movie title.

If a specific title from among several titles including the high-quality moving images includes data composed of either “iHD” or a “Java program”, this specific title is called an interactive title. In this case, the “iHD” or the Java program supports either the update of a title included in the recording medium or a network connection, such that it implements high interactivity.

The term “reproduction” or “playback” is indicative of a process for reading the stored data, and may include a process for executing a stored computer program and a process for outputting/copying the stored data.

The term “region-restriction release information” is indicative of specific information required for allowing a reproduction of data, and may include region information for allowing the data reproduction or time limit information for restricting the data reproduction.

Particularly, the term “updated region-restriction release information” is indicative of specific information generated when the author updates information required for allowing the reproduction of data recorded in a previous recording medium.

The term “Region information” is indicative of information associated with a region at which data can be reproduced. For example, the region information may be indicative of a code of a region or country at which the data reproduction is allowed.

The term “Time Limit information” is indicative of specific information associated with a reproduction-unallowed period (or a reproduction-unallowed time). The time limit information may also be indicative of a reproduction-enable period (i.e., a reproduction-restriction release period) for reproduction-unallowed data.

A period denoted by the time limit information may be referred to as a restriction period, a restriction release period, or a reproduction-restriction period.

In association with the above-mentioned description, it should be noted that the above-mentioned terms are not limited to the above-mentioned examples and meanings, and can also be applied to other examples as necessary.

FIG. 1 is a conceptual diagram illustrating a method for reproducing data stored in a recording medium and/or a storage using an optical recording/reproducing apparatus according to the present invention.

The optical recording/reproducing apparatus 10 can record/reproduce data in/from various optical discs having different formats. If necessary, the optical recording/reproducing apparatus 10 can record/reproduce specific data in/from only a specific optical disc such as a BD, or can reproduce the data from the optical disc without recording the data in the same.

It is well known in the art that the optical recording/reproduction apparatus 10 is also applicable to a drive embedded in a specific apparatus such as a computer.

The optical recording/reproducing apparatus 10 records or reproduces data in/from the optical disc 30, receives an external input signal, performs a signal process on the received signal, and transmits the signal processed result to the external display 20, such that a user can view the signal processed result on the display 20. In this case, there is no limitation in a receivable external signal. For example, representative external input signals may be determined to be a digital broadcasting (Digital Multimedia Broadcasting)-associated signal and an Internet-associated signal, etc. Specifically, the Internet is indicative of a communication network to which a user easily gains access, such that the user can download specific Internet data using the optical recording/reproducing apparatus 10, and can use the downloaded data.

In association with the present invention, if data includes identification (ID) information of a server for providing the region-restriction release information with either updated region information or updated time limit information, the updated region information or the updated time limit information may be downloaded over the Internet.

Detailed descriptions of the original data and the additional data will hereinafter be described in detail.

For example, it is assumed that multiplexed AV (Audio/Video) streams are recorded as the original data recorded in the optical disc, and additional data for use in the Internet is an audio stream different from an audio stream (e.g., Korean) of the original data. In this case, some users may download a specific audio stream (e.g., English) acting as additional data from the Internet, may desire to reproduce the downloaded audio stream along with the AV stream acting as original data, or may desire to reproduce only the additional data.

In order to implement the above-mentioned desires of the users, correlation between the original data and the additional data must be established, and there is needed a systemized method for managing/reproducing the above-mentioned data according to a user request.

In order to implement the user request, there is a need to configure a correlation file structure between the original data and the additional data, and the file structure is defined for each recording medium.

The optical recording/reproducing apparatus 10 according to the present invention stores designated region codes, such that it can reproduce data only when input data is equal to the designated region code.

FIG. 2 exemplarily shows a map of the world to which region codes are assigned according to the present invention.

Referring to FIG. 2, the world is divided into a plurality of regions, such that unique region codes may be assigned to the regions. In this case, the region code is indicative of rules established by a title author, who manages the demand and supply of titles and protects image industries. The region code restricts or limits a usable region of the title, such that it prevents the title from being reproduced at the restricted region.

In the case of using the region code, a movie unreleased at a specific region is illegally configured in the form of a title recorded in a recording medium, such that the copyright of the illegal recording medium including the movie can be protected from fraudulent users at the specific region.

For example, in the case of a DVD or HD-DVD, regions from 0 to 8 are identified by codes. The region code “0” is indicative of a region-free. The region code “1” is assigned to the United States the North America. The region code “2” is assigned to Japan and Europe. The region code “3” is assigned to the Republic of Korea and the Southeast Asia. The region code “4” is assigned to Australia, New Zealand, and the South America. The region code “5” is assigned to Russia and Africa. The region code “6” is assigned to China.

For another example, countries are divided into A, B, and C countries according to grades. The A-code country includes the Republic of Korea, Japan, the United States, and the North America. The B-code country includes Europe and Australia. The C-code country includes Japan, Russia, and the Southeast Asia. For the convenience of description, the present invention uses six region codes as an example.

If necessary, the countries may be classified according to region codes as described above, and the present invention may indicate a reproduction-allowed country by a country code designated by the title author.

The optical recording/reproducing apparatus 10 includes region information indicating a designated region or country. The region information is recorded in apparatus registration information indicating a variety of parameters and states/conditions of the optical recording/reproducing apparatus 10. In this way, only when the region information recorded in the optical recording/reproducing apparatus 10 is equal to other region information recorded in the optical disc 30, data of the optical disc can be reproduced.

The optical disc 30 may further include not only a specific period during which the data reproduction is restricted at a reproduction-unallowed region or country, but also time limit information indicating another period during which the data reproduction is allowed at the reproduction-unallowed region or country.

The time limit information may be denoted by a plurality of bits to express a restriction start/end date and a release start/end date. The time limit information may further include different restriction periods or different allowed periods according to individual countries or regions.

The data record structure of the optical disc 30 for storing the region information and the time limit information will hereinafter be described.

FIG. 3 is a structural diagram illustrating a data record structure of an optical disc acting as a recording medium according to the present invention.

As shown in FIG. 12, from the viewpoint of an inner area of the disc, the above-mentioned disc structure sequentially includes a file system information area serving as system information for managing overall files; a database area for recording an index file, an object file, a playlist file, a clip-info file, and a metadata file to reproduce a recorded AV stream; and a stream area for recording a plurality of streams composed of audio data, video data, and graphic data.

A specific area for recording file information to reproduce content data included in the data area is referred to as a management area. The file system information area and the database area correspond to the management area.

The management area may include data associated with reproduction management. The reproduction-allowed region information or time limit information associated with the reproduction-allowed region may be recorded in the management area. The management area in which the region information or time limit information is recorded may be indicative of a secure area or a certification area for preventing data from hacking or from being illegally modified.

If necessary, the title author may desire to update the region-restriction release information of a specific title pre-introduced to the market.

For example, an author of the title (e.g., A title) may desire to rapidly release the reproduction-restriction of the A title because the A title has a low box-office record. In this case, the author of the A title may desire to provide updated region-restriction release information for reducing the reproduction-restriction period.

For another example, if a reproduction-restricted region or country can be designated by the author, the author may desire to provide region-restriction release information capable of allowing the data reproduction action at some regions or countries from among all the reproduction-restricted regions or countries of the pre-introduced title.

The present invention provides a method for recording the updated region-restriction release information in an optical disc in which a new-version title is recorded, and providing the optical disc equipped with the updated region-restriction release information.

The present invention records region-restriction release information associated with the new-version title, and can allow the author to record the updated region-restriction release information associated with reproduction permission of a title recorded in the previous optical disc.

The updated region-restriction release information may be recorded in the reproduction management area or the reproduction-allowed management area. In this case, a security mode may be applied to the reproduction management area or the reproduction-allowed management area to prevent data from being illegally copied/modified.

For another example, server ID information (e.g., Uniform Resource Locator) of a server capable of downloading the updated time limit information or region information may also be recorded in the optical disc. The ID information needs less recording capacity than that of the time limit information. The above-mentioned server ID information may be considered to be the region-restriction release information.

The region in which the region-restriction release information is recorded may be indicative of a secure area or a certification area.

However, the regions of FIG. 3 are proposed for only illustrative purpose, such that the scope of such regions is not limited to arrangement structures of FIG. 3, and can also be applied to other examples.

The above-mentioned time limit information and the above-mentioned region information will hereinafter be described with reference to FIGS. 4A˜6B.

FIGS. 4A˜4B exemplarily show a table including region-restriction release information according to an embodiment of the present invention. FIGS. 5A˜5B exemplarily show a table including updated region-restriction release information recorded in a recording medium according to another embodiment of the present invention. FIGS. 6A˜6B exemplarily show a table including region-restriction release information recorded in a recording medium according to a yet another embodiment of the present invention.

Referring to FIG. 4A, reproduction-allowed region information (e.g., a region code and a reproduction-restriction release period) configured in the form of “YYYY.MM.DD” may be recorded in the recording medium. In this case, the above-mentioned format “YYYY.MM.DD” indicating the period information may be changed according to individual regions or countries.

With the increasing record capacity of a recording medium, a plurality of titles may be recorded in a single recording medium. FIG. 4B exemplarily shows a single recording medium in which at least one title is recorded. As can be seen from FIG. 4B, different reproduction-allowed regions or countries may be assigned to individual titles of the recording medium.

In this case, unique ID information is defined and assigned to each title, such that individual titles can be distinguished from each other. Different reproduction-allowed regions or different reproduction-restriction periods may be assigned to individual titles.

After the title has been introduced to the market, the content provider (CP) may desire to update the region-restriction release information including the reproduction-allowed region or reproduction-restriction period information. In this case, the content provider (CP) may record the updated information in the recording medium including a new title to be introduced to the market, and may then provide a user with the recording medium including the new title.

In this case, the updated region-restriction release information associated with a plurality of optical discs or titles may be configured in the form of an information table of FIGS. 5A˜6B, and may be recorded in an optical disc, such that the optical disc may be provided to the user.

As can be seen from FIGS. 5A˜5B, the above-mentioned table may include ID information of an optical disc or title, region free flag information, and region free date information. In this example, the region free date is indicative of a reproduction-restriction expiration period, and is equal to a reproduction-restriction period.

The ID information of the optical disc (See FIG. 5A) or the title (See FIG. 5B) may be indicative of unique ID information (i.e., unique ID code) designated when the optical disc or the title has been manufactured. A restriction release flag may be assigned to each optical disc or title.

If the flag value is set to the value of “0”, this means that data can be reproduced at only designated region(s).

If the flag value is set to the value of “1”, this means that data can be reproduced at all the regions. If the flag value is set to the value of “1”, a reproduction-restriction release period (i.e., region free date) may be determined by the content provider (CP). A reproduction-allowed period may also be determined by the content provider (CP) using the region release period field.

If the content provider (CP) may desire to designate at least one reproduction-allowed region or country, and may provide the designated region or country with the updated region-restriction release information, the table including the region-restriction release information may further include a specific field for indicating the region code or the country code, as can be seen from FIGS. 6A˜6B.

For example, after the content provider (CP) has manufactured the disc #1 (See FIG. 4A), data of which can be reproduced at only the region 1 and can be reproduced at all the regions irrespective of regions at a specific date “2007.10.01”, the content provider (CP) may desire to update the region-restriction release information in order to reproduce data at any one of several reproduction-unallowed regions. In this case, as shown in FIG. 6A, the content provider (CP) may designate the Region 3 at which data can be reproduced from a specific date “2007.10.01”, and may designate the Regions 4, 5, and 6 at which data can be reproduced from a specific date “2007.03.01”.

For another example, after the content provider (CP) has manufactured the title #1 (See FIG. 4B), which can be reproduced at only the Regions 1 and 2 and can be reproduced at all the regions irrespective of regions at a specific date “2007.07.01”, the content provider (CP) may desire to update the region-restriction release information in order to reproduce data at any one of several reproduction-unallowed regions. In this case, as shown in FIG. 6B, the content provider (CP) may designate the Region 3 at which data can be reproduced from a specific date “2007.10.01”, and may designate the Regions 4, 5, and 6 at which data can be reproduced from a specific date “2007.03.01”.

FIGS. 7A˜7B exemplarily show a table including region-restriction release information recorded in a recording medium according to a yet another embodiment of the present invention.

For example, the content provider (CP) may not record the updated region information and/or the time limit information in a recording medium, and may provide only the ID information of a provision server capable of downloading the updated region information and/or the updated time limit information. In this case, as can be seen from FIGS. 7A˜7B, the content provider (CP) may designate not only a URL (Uniform Resource Locator) field but also URL information of the provision server capable of transmitting the updated information to each disc or title.

The region-restriction release information may be recorded in the certification area of the recording medium. The region-restriction release information may be recorded in the secure area for preventing data from hacking or from being illegally modified.

FIG. 8 is a block diagram illustrating an optical recording/reproducing apparatus according to the present invention.

Referring to FIG. 8, the optical recording/reproducing apparatus 10 includes a pickup unit 11, a servo unit 14, a signal processor 13, a memory 15, and a microcomputer 16.

The pickup unit 11 reads original data recorded in the optical disc and management information including reproduction/management file information. The servo unit 14 controls operations of the pickup unit 11. The signal processor 13 receives a reproduction signal from the pickup unit 11, restores the received reproduction signal to a desired signal value, or modulates a signal to be recorded into another signal recorded in the optical disc, such that it transmits the restored or modulated result. The memory 15 stores a variety of information required for reproducing/recording data from/in the optical disc.

The microcomputer 16 controls operations of the above-mentioned components, i.e., the pickup unit 11, the signal processor 13, the servo unit 14, and the memory 15.

In brief, the pickup unit 11, all of the servo unit 14, the signal processor 13, the memory 15, and the microcomputer 16 may also be referred to as a recording/reproducing unit.

From the viewpoint of data reproduction, the above-mentioned recording/reproducing unit reads data from the optical disc 30 or the storage 19 according to a control signal of the controller 12, and transmits the read data to the decoder 17. In other words, from the viewpoint of the data reproduction, the recording/reproducing unit acts as a data player (or reader) for reading data.

From the viewpoint of data record, the above-mentioned recording/reproducing unit receives the signal encoded by the AV encoder 18, and records video- or audio-data in the optical disc 30, such that it can act as a data recorder.

The above-mentioned optical recording/reproducing apparatus 10 includes the controller 12 controlling the recording/reproducing unit. The controller 12 controls all the components of the optical recording/reproducing apparatus 10, controls a method for reproducing data from the recording medium by interfacing with the user, and controls a method for downloading data existing in the outside of the recording medium according to a user command.

In association with the above-mentioned description, the controller 12 and the microcomputer 16 may be separated from each other, such that they can be operated independent of each other. If necessary, the controller 12 and the microcomputer 16 may be integrated in a single control unit. The control unit may be implemented with software and/or hardware of the optical recording/reproducing apparatus 10.

For the convenience of description, the controller 12 and/or the microcomputer 18 may be generically referred to as the control unit, and a detailed description of the present invention including the control unit will hereinafter be described in detail.

The control unit according to the present invention downloads additional data existing in the outside of the optical disc according to a user command, stores the additional data in the storage 19, and reproduces the additional data of the storage 19 and/or the original data of the optical disc upon receiving a request from the user.

The AV decoder 17 finally decodes data of the recording medium and/or data of the storage 19 into output data according to a control signal of the control unit, and provides the user with the decoded result. Specifically, the AV decoder 17 decodes AV signals, and determines the presence or absence of a user command associated with the reproduction of the above-mentioned specific title. If the presence of the user command associated with the reproduction of the title, the AV decoder analyzes the user command using the control unit, such that it may act as a player for determining a reproduction direction. The AV decoder 17 may be composed of several decoders capable of decoding the video stream, the audio stream, and the subtitle stream according to data categories.

In association with the present invention, if the optical disc is uploaded, the control unit determines the presence or absence of updated region-restriction release information. If the presence of the updated region-restriction release information is determined, the control unit reads the updated region-restriction release information, and stores it in the memory 15.

If the optical disc is uploaded, the control unit reads region information from the optical disc, and determines whether the read region information is equal to a region (i.e., a setup region) set-up in the optical recording/reproducing apparatus 10. If it is determined that the read region information is not equal to the setup region of the optical recording/reproducing apparatus 10, the control unit determines the presence or absence of time limit information in the optical disc. If the presence of the time limit information is determined, the control unit reads the time limit information from the optical disc, and determines whether a restriction period designated in the time limit information has expired.

If it is determined that the restriction period has not expired, the control unit determines whether the region-restriction release information corresponding to the title recorded in the optical disc is included in the region-restriction release information stored in the memory 15. If it is determined that the region-restriction release information corresponding to the title is included in the region-restriction release information stored in the memory 15, the control unit determines whether to reproduce data using the region-restriction release information.

A method for determining whether to reproduce data using the above-mentioned region-restriction release information, and a method for reproducing the data will be described at a later time.

The optical recording/reproducing apparatus 10 includes the AV encoder 18. The AV encoder 18 converts an input signal into a specific format signal (e.g., an MPEG2 transport stream) upon receiving a control signal from the control unit, and transmits the converted result to the signal processor 13, such that it can record the signal in the optical disc. Similar to the AV decoder 17, the AV encoder 18 may include a plurality of encoders.

The control unit may record the video stream, the audio stream, and the reproduction-management data, which have been provided to the signal processor 13 after having been modified by each encoder, in the optical disc.

The control unit generates the updated region-restriction release information in associated with previous content data (e.g., title or optical disc), and may record the updated region-restriction release information along with the video/audio streams and the reproduction-management data in the optical disc using the recording/reproducing apparatus.

A method for storing the updated region-restriction release information using the optical recording/reproducing apparatus 10, and a method for reproducing data recorded in the optical disc will hereinafter be described in detail.

FIG. 9 is a flow chart illustrating a method for storing region-restriction release information according to an embodiment of the present invention.

Referring to FIG. 9, if the recording medium is uploaded at step S902, the optical recording/reproducing apparatus 10 determines whether updated region-restriction release information is recorded in the recording medium at step S904. In this case, the updated region-restriction release information may include region- or time limit-information associated with a title introduced before the recording medium is introduced to the market. The updated region-restriction release information may further include ID information of a provision server for providing the region information or the time limit information.

The region information may be a region- or country-code of a reproduction-allowed area for each title or each recording medium. If necessary, the region information may include codes of several regions or countries.

For example, provided that a reproduction-allowed region of the title #1 has been set to “Region 1” when the disc is manufactured, and then the reproduction-restriction is released at “Region 2”, a region code corresponding to the “Region 2” may be designated.

The time limit information may be indicative of a reproduction-restriction release period of the region or country at which the reproduction-restriction is released.

For example, if the reproduction-restriction is released at “Region 2”, the content provider (CP) may determine a desired reproduction-restriction release period. Therefore, the content provider (CP) may designate reproduction-restriction release period information.

ID information (e.g., URL information) of a server may be recorded as the updated region-restriction release information such that it prevents record capacity of the recording medium from being reduced, wherein the server provides updated region information or updated time limit information associated with another recording medium. The optical recording/reproducing apparatus 10 gains access to the server using the server ID information, such that it can receive the updated region information or the updated time limit information.

If the updated region-restriction release information is recorded at step S904, the optical recording/reproducing apparatus detects the updated region-restriction release information, and stores the detected information in the memory 15 at step S906. In this case, the memory 15 may be indicative of a memory capable of storing only the updated region-restriction release information. In this case, the updated region-restriction release information can be directly stored in the memory 15, without passing the process for determining whether the updated region-restriction release information is equal to the region-restriction release information pre-stored in the memory 15.

As described above, if the optical recording/reproducing apparatus 10 receives the updated region information or the updated time limit information from the server, it may store the received information in the memory. Otherwise, only the server ID information may be stored in the memory.

FIG. 10 is a flow chart illustrating a method for storing region-restriction release information according to another embodiment of the present invention.

Referring to FIG. 10, if the recording medium is uploaded at step S1002, the optical recording/reproducing apparatus 10 determines whether the uploaded region-restriction release information is recorded in the recording medium at step S1004. If it is determined that the uploaded region-restriction release information is recorded in the recording medium at step S1004, the optical recording/reproducing apparatus 10 reads the updated region-restriction release information recorded in the recording medium at step S1006.

The optical recording/reproducing apparatus 10 determines whether the updated region-restriction release information is equal to the region-restriction release information pre-stored in the memory at step S1008, such that a combination table of the region-restriction release information can be configured using the pre-stored region-restriction release information and the other region-restriction release information different from the pre-stored region-restriction release information.

If it is determined that the updated region-restriction release information is different from the region-restriction release information pre-stored in the memory at step S1008, the optical recording/reproducing apparatus updates the combination table of the region-restriction release information pre-stored in the memory using the region-restriction release information different from the pre-stored region-restriction release information at step S1010. In this case, the combination table of the region-restriction release information may be composed of several region-restriction release information for each title or disc.

A method for reproducing data using the region-restriction release information stored in the memory 15 will hereinafter be described with reference to the annexed drawings.

FIG. 11 is a flow chart illustrating a method for reproducing data according to an embodiment of the present invention.

Referring to FIG. 11, the reproduction unit (or reading unit) reads a region code recorded in the recording medium, and transmits the region code to the control unit at step S1102. In this case, the number of the region codes may correspond to one or more region codes. Not only the region code but also a country code may be recorded in the recording medium.

For the convenience of description, it is assumed that a single region code is set-up in the present invention.

The control unit determines whether the read region code is equal to region code set-up in the optical recording/reproducing apparatus 10 at step S1104. If the read region code is equal to the region code set-up in the optical recording/reproducing apparatus 10 at step S1104, the control unit controls data to be reproduced according to a user command at step S1114. In this case, if individual titles have different region codes, the control unit can control only a specific title having the same region code to be reproduced.

Otherwise, if the read region code is different from the region code set-up in the optical recording/reproducing apparatus 10 at step S1104, the control unit determines whether a restriction period is recorded in the recording medium at step S1106. In this case, the control unit may determine whether the time limit information indicating a restriction period of a reproduction-unallowed region or country is recorded in the recording medium.

If it is determined that the restriction period is recorded in the recording medium at step S1106, the control unit determines whether the restriction period has expired at step S1108. In this case, information of a date and time stored in the optical recording/reproducing apparatus 10 may also be used at step S1108. The date and time information cannot be changed by the user.

If it is determined that the restriction period has expired at step S1108, the optical recording/reproducing apparatus 10 may reproduce data according to the user command at step S1114.

In this case, if different restriction periods are assigned to the individual titles, it should be noted that only a specific title of which restriction period has expired can be reproduced.

Otherwise, if it is determined that the restriction period has not expired at step S1108, the control unit determines the presence or absence of specific information corresponding to the recording medium from among the region-restriction release information stored in the memory 15 of the optical recording/reproducing apparatus 10 at step S1110.

In this case, the region-restriction release information is indicative of the updated information provided from another recording medium. If the individual titles have different region-restriction release information, the control unit determines the presence or absence of specific information corresponding to each title.

If the absence of specific information corresponding to the recording medium is determined at step S1110, the control unit may display a warning message indicating a reproduction-unallowed state at step S1116.

Otherwise, if it is determined that the specific information corresponding to the recording medium is included in the region-restriction release information at step S1110, the control unit determines whether a restriction period denoted by the time limit information included in the corresponding region-restriction release information has expired at step S1112. In this case, if different time limit information is assigned to individual regions, the control unit determines whether the region code (i.e., setup region code) set-up in the optical recording/reproducing apparatus is equal to a code of another region at which the reproduction-restriction is released. If the se-tup region code is equal to the code of another region at which the reproduction-restriction is released, the control unit determines whether the restriction period has expired.

If it is determined that the restriction period has not expired at step S1112, the control unit may display a warning message indicating that data recorded in the recording medium cannot be reproduced at step S1116. Otherwise, if it is determined that the restriction period has expired at step S1112, the control unit reproduces the data according to a user command at step S1114.

FIG. 12 is a flow chart illustrating a method for reproducing data according to another embodiment of the present invention. In more detail, if the region-restriction release information does not include the updated reproduction-allowed region information or the updated reproduction-allowed time limit information, and only the server ID information may be included in the region-restriction release information, a method for reproducing data is shown in FIG. 12.

Referring to FIG. 12, the reading unit reads a region code recorded in the recording medium, and transmits the region code to the control unit at step S1202. In this case, the number of region codes may correspond to one or more region codes, and may also indicate not only the region code but also a country code.

For the convenience of description, it is assumed that a single region code is established in the present invention for only illustrative purpose.

The control unit determines whether the read region code is equal to region code set-up in the optical recording/reproducing apparatus 10 at step S1204. If the read region code is equal to the region code set-up in the optical recording/reproducing apparatus 10 at step S1204, the control unit can control data to be reproduced according to a user command at step S1220. In this case, if individual titles have different region codes, the control unit can reproduce only a specific title which has the same region code as the set-up region code.

Otherwise, if the read region code is different from the region code set-up in the optical recording/reproducing apparatus 10 at step S1204, the control unit determines whether a restriction period is recorded in the recording medium at step S1206. In this case, the control unit may determine whether the time limit information indicating a restriction period of a reproduction-unallowed region or country is recorded in the recording medium.

If it is determined that the restriction period is recorded in the recording medium at step S1206, the control unit determines whether the restriction period has expired at step S1208.

If it is determined that the restriction period has expired at step S1208, the optical recording/reproducing apparatus 10 may reproduce data recorded in the recording medium according to the user command at step S1220.

Otherwise, if it is determined that the restriction period is not recorded in the recording medium at step S1206 or the restriction period has not expired at step S1208, the control unit determines the presence or absence of specific information corresponding to the recording medium from among the region-restriction release information stored in the memory 15 of the optical recording/reproducing apparatus 10 at step S1210.

In this case, the region-restriction release information is indicative of the updated information provided by another recording medium. If the individual titles have different region-restriction release information, the control unit determines the presence or absence of specific information corresponding to each title.

If the absence of specific information corresponding to the recording medium is determined at step S1210, the control unit may display a warning message indicating a reproduction-unallowed state at step S1218.

Otherwise, if it is determined that the presence of specific information corresponding to the recording medium is determined at step S1210, the control unit gains access to the server using the server ID information (e.g., URL) included in the above-mentioned region-restriction release information at step S1212.

The control unit may receive either information of a specific region at which the reproduction-restriction is released or time limit information indicating a restriction period at step S1214. In this case, the updated information may be downloaded in the certified optical recording/reproducing apparatus 10 of a server certified by a security system. In this case, the security system may be indicative of a Security Sockets Layer (SSL), a Transport Layer Security (TLS), or a personal security channel, etc.

It is determined whether the restriction period denoted by the received time limit information has expired at step S1216. In this case, if different time limit information is assigned to individual regions, the control unit firstly determines whether a first region code set-up in the optical recording/reproducing apparatus 10 is equal to a second region code of a region at which the reproduction-restriction is released. If it is determined that the first region code is equal to the second region code, the control unit determines whether the restriction period has expired.

If it is determined that the restriction period has not expired at step S1216, the control unit may display a warning message indicating that data recorded in the recording medium cannot be reproduced at step S1218. Otherwise, if it is determined that the restriction period has expired at step S1218, the control unit reproduces the data according to a user command at step S1220.

In association with the above-mentioned description, although the present invention has disclosed using the region information and the time limit information as an example, it should be noted that the scope of the present invention can also be applied to a variety of processes for updating various information capable of restricting the data reproduction.

For example, in the case of allowing the data reproduction at a specific reproduction-allowed region, the present invention may determine whether high-definition content images or standard-definition content images will be displayed for each country of a specific reproduction-allowed region.

BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF DRAWINGS

The accompanying drawings, which are included to provide a further understanding of the invention, illustrate embodiments of the invention and together with the description serve to explain the principle of the invention.

In the drawings:

FIG. 1 is a conceptual diagram illustrating a method for reproducing data stored in a recording medium and/or a storage using an optical recording/reproducing apparatus according to the present invention;

FIG. 2 exemplarily shows a map of the world to which region codes are assigned according to the present invention;

FIG. 3 is a structural diagram illustrating a data record structure of an optical disc acting as a recording medium according to the present invention;

FIGS. 4A˜4B exemplarily show a table including region-restriction release information according to an embodiment of the present invention;

FIGS. 5A˜5B exemplarily show a table including updated region-restriction release information recorded in a recording medium according to another embodiment of the present invention;

FIGS. 6A˜6B exemplarily show a table including region-restriction release information recorded in a recording medium according to a yet another embodiment of the present invention;

FIGS. 7A˜7B exemplarily show a table including region-restriction release information recorded in a recording medium according to a yet another embodiment of the present invention;

FIG. 8 is a block diagram illustrating an optical recording/reproducing apparatus according to the present invention;

FIG. 9 is a flow chart illustrating a method for storing region-restriction release information according to an embodiment of the present invention;

FIG. 10 is a flow chart illustrating a method for storing region-restriction release information according to another embodiment of the present invention;

FIG. 11 is a flow chart illustrating a method for reproducing data according to an embodiment of the present invention; and

FIG. 12 is a flow chart illustrating a method for reproducing data according to another embodiment of the present invention.

BEST MODE FOR CARRYING OUT THE INVENTION

The object of the present invention can be achieved by providing a recording medium for recording data comprising: first reproduction-restriction information associated with the recording medium; and update information of second reproduction-restriction information associated with other recording medium.

The update information can include release information of reproduction-restriction of the other recording medium.

The second reproduction-restriction information can include region information indicating a reproduction-allowed region of the other recording medium, and the update information can include updated region information of the other recording medium.

The second reproduction-restriction information can include time information indicating a reproduction-restriction release time of the other recording medium, and the update information can include updated time information of the other recording medium.

The time information can be defined for each region.

The update information can include server information indicating a server which provides updated region information or updated time information of the other recording medium.

The update information can be defined for each title recorded in the other recording medium.

The update information can be recorded in a secure area of the recording medium.

In another aspect of the present invention, provided herein is a method for reproducing data recorded in a recording medium and/or a storage comprising: reading updated reproduction-restriction information associated with other recording medium from the data; and storing the updated reproduction-restriction information.

In a further aspect of the present invention, provided herein is a method for reproducing data recorded in a recording medium and/or a storage comprising: determining whether reproduction-restriction of the data is released by referring to update information of reproduction-restriction information associated with the data; and determining whether to reproduce the data according to the determined result.

In a further aspect of the present invention, provided herein is an apparatus for reproducing data recorded in a recording medium and/or a storage comprising: a reading unit reading updated reproduction-restriction information associated with other recording medium from the data; a storage unit storing the updated reproduction-restriction information; and a control unit controlling the reading unit and the storage unit.

In a further aspect of the present invention, provided herein is an apparatus for reproducing data recorded in a recording medium and/or a storage comprising: a storage unit storing updated reproduction-restriction information; and a control unit determining whether reproduction-restriction of the data is released using the updated reproduction-restriction information, and determining whether to reproduce the data according to the determined result.

In a further aspect of the present invention, provided herein is a method for recording data in a recording medium comprising: generating first reproduction-restriction information associated with the recording medium and update information of second reproduction-restriction information associated with other recording medium; and recording the first reproduction-restriction information and the update information in the recording medium.

In a further aspect of the present invention, provided herein is an apparatus for recording data in a recording medium comprising: a recording unit recording the data in the recording medium; and a control unit generating first reproduction-restriction information associated with the recording medium and update information of second reproduction-restriction information associated with other recording medium, and controlling the recording unit to record the first reproduction-restriction information and the update information in the recording medium.

The above-mentioned best modes are presented for describing the present invention. Thus, it is apparent that the present invention is not limited in the above-mentioned best modes.

As apparent from the above description, if the content provider (CP) desires to release the reproduction-restriction of pre-introduced content data at a specific region or country due to the reproduction environment or distribution condition, or the occurrence of other conditions associated with the data reproduction, the present invention may allow the content provider (CP) to provide reproduction-restriction release information via another recording medium.

The present invention records updated restriction release information of other recording medium in the recording medium, and induces users or consumers to buy a new recording medium, resulting in the increased economical profits of the content provider (CP).

Also, the present invention induces the user to buy a new recording medium recording other contents, receives restriction release information from the content provider (CP) without paying the content provider (CP) the usage fee of reproduction-restricted contents, such that the user can freely use desired contents having been protected from being reproduced.

INDUSTRIAL APPLICABILITY

It will be apparent to those skilled in the art that various modifications and variations can be made in the present invention without departing from the spirit or scope of the invention. It is intended that the present invention cover the modifications and variations of this invention provided they come within the scope of the appended claims and their equivalents. 

1. A recording medium in which data is recorded, the recording medium comprising: first reproduction-restriction information associated with the recording medium; and update information of second reproduction-restriction information associated with other recording medium.
 2. The recording medium according to claim 1, wherein the update information includes release information of reproduction-restriction of the other recording medium.
 3. The recording medium according to claim 1, wherein the second reproduction-restriction information includes region information indicating a reproduction-allowed region of the other recording medium, and the update information includes updated region information of the other recording medium.
 4. The recording medium according to claim 1, wherein the second reproduction-restriction information includes time information indicating a reproduction-restriction release time of the other recording medium, and the update information includes updated time information of the other recording medium.
 5. The recording medium according to claim 4, wherein the time information is defined for each region.
 6. The recording medium according to claim 1, wherein the update information includes server information indicating a server which provides updated region information or updated time information of the other recording medium.
 7. The recording medium according to claim 1, wherein the update information is defined for each title recorded in the other recording medium.
 8. The recording medium according to claim 1, wherein the update information is recorded in a secure area of the recording medium.
 9. A method for reproducing data recorded in a recording medium and/or a storage comprising: reading updated reproduction-restriction information associated with other recording medium from the data; and storing the updated reproduction-restriction information.
 10. The method according to claim 9, wherein: the updated reproduction-restriction information is stored when the updated reproduction-restriction information is different from pre-stored reproduction-restriction information.
 11. The method according to claim 9, wherein the updated reproduction-restriction information includes region information indicating a reproduction-allowed region of the other recording medium.
 12. The method according to claim 9, wherein the updated reproduction-restriction information includes time information indicating a reproduction-restriction release time of the other recording medium.
 13. The method according to claim 9, wherein the updated reproduction-restriction information includes server information indicating a server which provides either the data or reproduction-restriction release information of the other recording medium.
 14. The method according to claim 13, further comprising: receiving the release information from the server using the server information.
 15. A method for reproducing data recorded in a recording medium and/or a storage comprising: determining whether reproduction-restriction of the data is released by referring to update information of reproduction-restriction information associated with the data; and determining whether to reproduce the data according to the determined result.
 16. The method according to claim 15, wherein the update information is recorded in a recording medium which comes out to a market after the recording medium of claim
 15. 17. The method according to claim 15, further comprising: if region information included in the update information is equal to setup region information of a reproduction apparatus, allowing a reproduction of the data
 18. The method according to claim 15, further comprising: if time information included in the update information indicates that the reproduction-restriction period of the data is expired, allowing a reproduction of the data.
 19. The method according to claim 15, further comprising: receiving updated region information or updated time information associated with the data from a server denoted by server information, by referring to the server information included in the update information.
 20. An apparatus for reproducing data recorded in a recording medium and/or a storage comprising: a reading unit reading updated reproduction-restriction information associated with other recording medium from the data; a storage unit storing the updated reproduction-restriction information; and a control unit controlling the reading unit and the storage unit.
 21. An apparatus for reproducing data recorded in a recording medium and/or a storage comprising: a storage unit storing updated reproduction-restriction information; and a control unit determining whether reproduction-restriction of the data is released using the updated reproduction-restriction information, and determining whether to reproduce the data according to the determined result.
 22. The apparatus according to claim 21, wherein the updated reproduction-restriction information is recorded in a recording medium which comes out to a market after the recording medium of claim
 21. 23. The apparatus according to claim 21, wherein the control unit controls the data to be reproduced when region information included in the updated information is equal to setup region information of the reading unit.
 24. The apparatus according to claim 21, wherein the control unit controls the data to be reproduced when time information included in the updated information indicates that the reproduction-restriction period of the data is expired.
 25. The apparatus according to claim 21, further comprising: a transceiver connected to a server, Wherein the control unit receives updated region information or updated time information associated with the data from the server denoted by server information included in the updated information.
 26. A method for recording data in a recording medium comprising: generating first reproduction-restriction information associated with the recording medium and update information of second reproduction-restriction information associated with other recording medium; and recording the first reproduction-restriction information and the update information in the recording medium.
 27. An apparatus for recording data in a recording medium comprising: a recording unit recording the data in the recording medium; and a control unit generating not first reproduction-restriction information associated with the recording medium and update information of second reproduction-restriction information associated with other recording medium, and controlling the recording unit to record the first reproduction-restriction information and the update information in the recording medium. 